“I Love Trash” is Oscar’s signature song, one that lovingly stays in your head long after you hear it, repeated through the Sesame Street epochs (most memorably sung by baritone Josh Groban). Oscar revels in his detritus that truly has no other value than a hoarder’s obsession:

Anything dirty, or dingy, or dusty

Yeah, anything ragged, or rotten, or rusty

Yes, I love, I love, I love trash!

Perhaps this is symbolic of Oscar’s own abject agency—he lives in a trash can, but has great confidence and pride, and takes ownership of his single status in relationships, in love and in life.

It was fun painting this. Like Carroll Spinney, who also played Big Bird’s yin to Oscar’s yang, to embroil oneself in his grouchy character was a great release, and edifying as an adult to both embrace the grouchy side of life and project oneself into the pure Big Bird. Oscar ultimately has a heart of gold—he was presented originally to show someone who provided all the negative traits that parents WOULDN’T want their kids to have, but that do exist in their micro culture. But like a grumpy grandpa, he ultimately gets along with the rest of the group, not as abject as he might think, but part of a greater community—and who secretly loves all (or most!) of those around him, and they love him, too.